Hay-making machine



NITED STATES PATENT,

HAY-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.` 12,725. dated April17, 1355.

To 'all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS PEABODY, of Salem, in the count)1 of Essexand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Machine forthe Purpose of-Drying Grass and Making Hay, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexeddrawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is aplan; Fig. 2, a rear elevation; Fig. 3, an elld view; Fig. 4, aremovable case, whicll serves to cover the driving-wheel and the partsimmediately connected therewith, and prevent them from being clogged bythe grass. Fig. 5 is a section of the interior ofthe driving-wheel,showing the cogs which actuate the revolving arms or scatterers.

No part of the process of making hay consullles labor to agreaterdisadvantage tllan the turning and scattering the grass over thetleld to expose it to the action of the sun and air, and nothing islnore essential to its preservation than colnplete desiccatioll. Ill thelnaehines heretofore used for this purpose the arms or beaters whichraise the grass revolve in the direction ill which the machineprogresses, alld thus the grass is thrown in advance ot' the machinealld falls upon the horse and driver, andfalso accumulates infront ofthe machine itself, which is thus impeded ill the performance of itswork.

To remove tllese defects, alld to produce a machine that shall operateequally upon all the mown grass and throw it to the rear of the machineinstead of in advance otl it, is the object of my present invention;alld my invention consists ill gathering up the grass upon `frame-workof the horizontal rake, the end pieces, B, of wllich form runners, whichslide upon the ground and guide the rake in its progress over thesurface.

C are the fingers of the rake, which gather `up the 4mowll grass andpresent it to the re- I volvln g arms or scatterers.

D is the back frame, which rises at a suitable angle from the rear bar,A',ot' the rake, and

which serves to guide the grass upward as it is carried round by therevolving arms.

E are arched standards, which rise from the frame-work of the rake, andon which run the gudgeolls of the driving-wheel F alld the revolvingscatterers.

rlhedriving-wheel consists of a broad riln, a, Fig. 5, supported uponthe spokes b, upon each side of which are the cogs c, which engage withthe teeth of the wheels d upon the arbors G ofthe scatterers H. rl`helatter project from their arbols, and are thus lnade to revolve rapidlyras the machine advances, alld to seize the grass which is collected bythe rake and throw it into the air, whence it falls evenly and lightlyover the surface of the ground. Owing to the fact that the wheels d.engage with the interior ot' the riln of the drivingwheel F, the arms Hare caused to revolve ill a direction contrary to that in whichtllelllachine advances, as indicated by the `arrow ill Fig. 3. The grasswill thus i'all behind and not in advance of the machine, as hasheretofore been 'the case.

In the accompanying drawings but one-halt' of the machine isrepresented, the drivingwlleel F being placed in the center ot'itslength. The whole machine is thus turned upon this wlleel as upon apivot, alld it may in consequellce be made to operate ill corners oftheA iield or near to fences, where it would be ilnpossible to use amachine with the drivingwheels upon its outside ends.

Some ofl the advantages which the above machine possesses over thoseheretofore constructed lnay be enumerated as follows:

First, the grass, in ,lieu of being thrown in front of the machine, bywhich its operation would be clogged and the horse alld driverillcommoded, is all throwll behind it, where it falls lightly and isevenly d istributed over the ground, not beillg again tramped ""upon orpressed into the ground by the team or the wheels ol' the machine.

Secondly, owing to tllepeculiar manner in which it is balanced upon eachside of the. single drivin g-wheel, the machine is easily turned in anydirection, and may be operated in positions where it could otherwise notbe introduced, as before explained.

Thirdly, either end of the rake will be tilted up byany obstructionswhich it may encounter, and the fingers will thus be preserved frombreaking, While at the same time they are allowed to run close to thesurface of' the ground.

In Fig. 4 is seen the cover or case T, which servestoprotectthegearingfrom beingclogged by the grass. The position of thiscover is im dicated by the red lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The machineis set in motion by a horse harnessed to the shafts S.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The within-described machine f'or making FRANCIS PEABODY. Witnesses:

SAM COOPER, s JOHN S. CLoW.

